Camera Labs

Hello everyone,

For a while now, I have been wanting to buy the Canon EOS 600D. Due to some monetary setbacks, these plans got delayed. The good news is that I can now go for the 650D instead! I'm having a hard time deciding which lenses I should get with it though. I really like to take pictures of animals, especially in the safaripark that is 5 kilometers from my house. Untill now, I only used point and shoot camera's, which do fine for snapshots of family and friends, but don't offer satisfactory results when shooting animal pictures. Since i'm a complete beginner, I do not want to spend thousands of euro's on one particular lens. Since this will be my first DSLR experience, I would like your opinions on the best 'set' that I can choose.

A local store is offering the following sets:
- Canon EOS 650D Body, 850 euro.
- Canon EOS 650D Body + EF-S 18-55mm IS II Bulk, 950 euro
- Canon EOS 650D + 18-55mm IS II + 55-250mm IS II, 1175 euro
- Canon EOS 650D Body + EF-S 18-135mm IS STM, 1400 euro
- Canon EOS 650D Body + Tamron 18-270mm PZD, 1330 euro

I know i'm probably going to need at least some zoom capability. Therefore the Body alone, and the set with only the 18-55 mm won't cut it. The choice is then between a set with 2 lenses, which means i am going to have to switch, or a single multi purpose lens. The switching won't be a big deal, since I do not expect that i'm going to have to switch really fast, but it is annoying anyways.

Another option is to go for a multi-purpose lens like the 18-135mm lens. With this set, i'm affraid that the quality on the max zoom capability is suboptimal, but moreover i'm affraid that the 135mm won't be enough for my purposes. The last option with the Tamron could then help solve this issue, but I am hesitant about non-canon lenses as a beginner. I would not know what to look at.

Finally, I have seen the following multi-purpose lens: Canon EF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS. This one is only sold seperately (for 490 euro). It does 'solve' the problem with range that the 18-135mm might have, but is not available as a starterset and therefor increases the overal price.

My budget is between 1000 and 1500 euro.

Does anyone have a suggestion what would be a wise choice for a beginner photographer?

Thanks in advance!

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

Of those choices, I'd go for "Canon EOS 650D + 18-55mm IS II + 55-250mm IS II, 1175 euro". It does depend on the safari park of course, but in general for captive wildlife, I find myself using longer lenses more often than not. The 55-250 is good performance and value for the price.

Another option would be to go for the "Canon EOS 650D Body + EF-S 18-55mm IS II Bulk, 950 euro" and then separately add the "Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 SP Di VC USD" which is generally regarded as a great lens for its price. I don't know about exact euro pricing but based on UK prices that would be around a few hundred euro. The only drawback I see for this is the zoom direction is opposite to Canon lenses.

I would hesitate with the Tamron 18-270 as I had the non-PZD version in the past. There are always compromises when you have bigger zoom ranges, and unfortunately at the longer end of the zoom, it lacked something.

The bundle with 18-135mm STM is better suited if you're into video, but for the price it doesn't quite deliver here. You will need something longer to go with it sooner than later.

Of course, do check the reviews from here and elsewhere for any lenses that sound interesting to you.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

@ Popo, Thank you for your insight. I will keep watching the website closely for any news regarding the 650D and potential usefull lenses.

PS. The Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 SP Di VC USD goes for 350 euro here in the Netherlands.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

I'll second popo. I just started using the 55-200 in the Army and all though it is a cheep build quaility, it has performed better than expected. I also own the Tameron 70-300 he mentioned. It is not fast (not the quickest catch on auto-focus) but for an entry level 70-300 it's great. It has better features than canons 70-300 (not the 70-300L ) and is a bit cheeper than canons.

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

Thank you both for your input. I was wondering if you guys would choose the standard 18-55 mm as mentioned above, or immediatly upgrade this lens? I found a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM and a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS to fall within the budget. Which of these would you guys choose if the 2nd lens would be the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 SP Di VC USD?

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

Since buying the Tamron SP 70-300 DI VC USD, it has barely left the camera body, definitely recommend this one. For the other two lenses I can't comment since I only tried the 18-135mm in a store with no memory card, although it usually has good reviews as a starter lens.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

I've never used the 17-85 but i have heard it is a good, not great lens. I use the sigma 18-125 as a daily walk around lens which is in the same class as the 18-135 and been happy with it as my first lens. To me, my dream walk around lens is the 15-85 but I just haven't had the money to put into it yet. I personally would not settle on the 18-55 kit as a daily walker but i have heard some say it works fine. The sigma 18-125 and canon 18-135 do have draw backs as you get into long focal length ranges like that but it comes down to learn your lens strengths and weaknesses.

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

I also agree with the Tamron 70-300mm. Great lens for the price and optically it is pretty good. The 17-85mm is not a particularly good lens and would probably not be worth the upgrade over the 18-55mm. A long lens such as the 55-250 or 70-300 and a standard 18-55mm should give you enough to play with. Like Mike said the 15-85mm is a great lens although I think it might be slightly out of the budget. I've heard good things about the Sigma 18-125mm but have had no experience with it so I can't really comment Also are you talking about the new Canon 18-135mm or the older version?

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Indeed. The results they produce are very similar - the 17-85mm just has the better zoom range and it's faster. I found the build quality just a tad better. Similar to my 28-80mm USM (old version with metal mount and ring USM) and 100-300mm USM.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

I'm talking about the EF-S 18-135mm IS STM, which is the new one (if i'm correct). I presume the older one will drop in price, so it might be worth considering the 'old' version. I heard the upgrades to the 18-135mm were underwelming. Also, that these upgrades are mainly used for the video mode. Since i'm not planning to shoot a lot of video's, but am planning to buy the camera mostly for pictures, it could be an idea to look at the 'old' one. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Furthermore, I saw some 17-85mm lenses that were quite expensive. Though I encountered the following lens that is quite affordable (http://www.digitalstreet.nl/product_inf ... s_id=5176'). Is it me, or is this a decent price for this lens? Again, I would like to know which lens I should get for the 'daily' pictures, to replace the standard 18-55mm kitlens.



P.S. Thank you all for your valuable input. I'm learning a lot by reading about your experiences.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

I just did a quick price up for you based on the Amazon France prices which gave me the costs in Euros.

The 650D with 15-85mm and Tamron 70-300mm would cost you €1600. This would give you a very good standard zoom for everyday use and a very good value for money telephoto zoom lens. I know it is a little bit over your budget but it is not a huge amount and the 15-85mm is much better than any of the lenses that have been considered so far.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Is that the (http://www.digitalstreet.nl/product_inf ... id=5176%27)? Could you add the amazon france link for that 'set'?

Thanks in advance!

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B0089U6 ... d_i=405320

http://www.amazon.fr/Canon-Objectif-Sta ... 955&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.fr/Tamron-Objectif-70 ... 983&sr=1-4

All sold directly from Amazon France. I don't know where about you are in Europe but prices should be pretty similar. The 15-85mm is the upgraded version of the 17-85mm. I have never used it but have only heard very good things about it. It is considered one of the best EF-S lenses around and definitely worth the money if you can afford it.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

I'm in the Netherlands. Prices should indeed be similar. Got a question for you. In an earlier post, Popo suggested the "Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 SP Di VC USD". You just suggested the "Tamron - Objectif AF 70-300mm F/4-5,6 Di LD IF Macro 1/2 Canon". The first one is the zoom lens and the second is a macro lens, ain't that right. The first one goes for 350 euro, while the macro lens goes for 150 euro. I'm presuming that the first one is the one I need for the ranged pictures.

I'm sorry that i'm confused at the moment. But I wouldn't want to order the wrong lens.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

The one I linked is easily spotted as it has "VC" in the name, which is Tamron's name for their image stabilisation. The older/cheaper ones didn't have that. Also the old one is still a zoom. They often stick macro into the name to denote some higher magnification capability, although still somewhat less than prime macro lenses. Only the new lens is considered a great one.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.